It's My Birthday!!

"One year older and wiser too!

Happy Birthday...to YOU!!"

(well...me...but that wouldn't rhyme)

That's from a song that we sing in Primary when it's someone's birthday...it's been in my head all day.

So yeah, it's my birthday.

I woke up to Ryan, Haley and Piper (they were the only ones up at the time) singing me Happy Birthday in bed complete with a cupcake and candle.  Actually, I started coming downstairs before they came up and I was scolded and told to hurry up and get back into bed.  And then, downstairs waiting for me...a NEW BIKE!!  I've been without a road bike for a year now, so I'm happy to have one again!

Ryan took me to lunch...super fun treat!

And there's a cake with my name on it (literally) waiting to be eaten for tonight!

Happy Birthday to me!!

Ski Lift Selfie

 It seems Jeff and I have a little tradition going on...an annual ski lift selfie. 

This year...2015.

And last year...2014.

Both were taken on the same lift (Arrowhead) and I'm pretty sure in the same spot.  I didn't realize it until after we took the picture this year that I remembered....hey, I think we did the same picture last year!  

So, I think it's going to be a thing now.

Happy Wednesday!

Makeup Monday!!

Okay...so the last time I posted on makeup I shared a high end BB cream and a drugstore lip gloss.  I'm going to do a little switch-a-roo and share a drug store foundation and a high end lip gloss.  

Like I said before, I'm NOT a fan of high coverage foundation on my face.  I don't need to cover up every single freckle or mole or blemish.  Just something to even out my skin tone a little.  

Anyway, this is a new foundation from L'Oreal...the Infallible Pro Matte foundation.  

 It actually covers pretty well.  However, it is matte, so I like to use a good moisturizer before I put this on just to give my skin some moisture.  It's super light and you don't need much, and it lasts a long time!  The only big complaint is the color selection.  I think they run too dark.  I picked up mine in 107 Fresh Beige and it's too dark and a bit too orange for me.  So if you decide to pick one of these up go down a shade!!  Otherwise, I really like it a lot and tend to grab this often when I'm getting ready.

Okay...this is one of my favorites!

Buxom lip creams.

Now I have to admit, I've never purchased one of these, the only one I have ever owned is a sample I got in the color mudslide (which I'm not even sure they sell mudslide anymore).  The sample has lasted me forever, and I'm pretty sure I will purchase one eventually.  I'll probably get the color White Russian...it quite popular!  Seriously though, these are the best!  They are not sticky and they have a tingle sensation when you put it on...it reminds me of a good chapstick.  Now I know Buxom sells a Lip Polish and a Lip Cream...I have only tried the Lip Cream, but I'm sure the polish is great too!

On another note...I'm getting this in the mail today:

The Smashbox contour kit...a little early Birthday gift for myself!

I really hope I love it!

So there you have it...another Makeup Monday.
Have a good one ya'll!

Valentine's Recap

Piper brought this card home from school...pretty cute.

I can't believe it...I didn't take one picture of our Valentine's Day evening/dinner.  I dropped the ball, but I assure you it was a success!  I had to work, so the girls (and Ryan) had the task to clean the house and decorate the dining room for our "romantic" candle light dinner.  I was not disappointed when I came home!!  The house was clean, the dining room looked beautiful and the potatoes were even peeled, cut and in a pot ready to be cooked!  This was probably one of the best Valentine's gifts this mom could ask for after a very tiring day at work!

I cooked up our traditional steak dinner complete with our molten lava cakes for dessert.  It came out pretty darn good if I do say so myself!!  

In other news, while east coasters are getting slammed by old man winter, us Utahns are praying for snow!!  Our poor little ski resort is looking quite bare and slowly runs are being closed due to the lack of snow...it's sad, very sad.  

So do a little snow dance in our honor please.

Happy Wednesday ya'll!!

Skiing with my Littles

Yesterday I took advantage of having nothing on our schedule in the day.  I took Piper and Rory skiing...by myself...which I'm pretty proud of if I do say so.  Any parent that has taken children skiing know that this is no easy task.  But I did it!  And we had FUN!

I worked on the tow handle with Rory while Piper did laps around us...luckily we pretty much had the run to ourselves!  

They insisted on going on the big chair lift before we left which I was a little apprehensive about doing but went for it anyway.  They did great!  I just put Rory in front of me and held her close down the steeper sections.  She's so light I could carry her in my arms skiing down if I had to.  But we managed just fine. 

It was such a nice morning...granted, a lot of work...but fun.  

They must have worked hard too...

...this was them as we pulled into the garage.  Yes, Piper fell asleep with a sucker in her mouth...probably not the safest.

I'm going to try to do this as many Wednesdays as I can.  We're going to have our entire family skiing together by the close of the season...mark my words!!

Enjoy the holiday weekend ya'll!

Makeup Monday

Let me start by saying I was never a makeup person...ever.  In high school I wore neutral eyeshadow and mascara...and maybe sometimes if I was really feeling wild I would wear some eyeliner.  I don't really remember wearing lipsticks that often...I'm more of a chapstick kinda girl.  Seriously, if there is one thing I ALWAYS have on me, it's chapstick...and you can find them everywhere: my purse, car, kitchen, bathroom, jacket pockets....everywhere!  I HATE having chapped lips!  

If I ever went to a school dance my friend's mom did my makeup (let me add here that she also did my makeup for my wedding too)...they owned a ton of MAC makeup and it pretty much blew my one Mabeline eye palette and one mascara away!  I don't ever remember buying my own makeup...I did raid my mom's stuff quite a bit, or she might have bought me a thing or too that I requested or I would get hand me downs from my grandma's stash.  And I pretty much stayed that way for years and years...well, minus the raiding my mom's stuff...once in college I did start buying my own makeup, but I always bought the same things, and it was always from the drugstore...never high end...ever!  I pretty much thought that was the silliest thing ever to pay big bucks for makeup.  

HA!  Oh, how times change!

This was the day that my makeup world changed.

This was about two years ago.  It was my friends' birthday and her husband rented her a Mustang to go joy riding in for the day.  Well, she is a makeup guru and of course the first thing she wanted to do was drive to SLC (about 45 minutes away) and go to Sephora.  Me, not being a makeup person, thought it was a little weird...that's a long way to drive to look at makeup...but I was excited for our fun day none the less!

Well, while I was there I thought I might as well take a little splurge on myself and see what all the hype of high end makeup is all about. 

I bought the Urban Decay Basics palette.  I gravitated towards this because it was neutral and it was matte (except for one highlight shade)...very simple!  It's also $25, which I thought was absurd, but went for it anyway.  Thank goodness I loved it!  And this my friends, marked the beginning of my new obsession for makeup.

So, since then I've learned quite a bit (and still learning) about what works and what doesn't for me, and I have to admit my makeup collection has grown a lot since my one eye shadow palette and one mascara days.  Let's face it, my skin is not the same as it was when I was in my 20's and what worked then (barely anything) doesn't really work now.  

So, yeah, Makeup Monday....I thought I would just share products that I've been liking and work well for me every so often here on my little blog just in case anyone is interested out there.  I'll be sharing high end along with drugstore makeup.

First up:

Urban Decay BB cream.

I'm not big on heavy foundations, I hate feeling cakey!  So I've really been into BB (beauty balms) and CC (color correcting) creams.  (Or in a pinch I mix my moisturizer with a foundation).  Anyway, this one from Urban Decay is great!  It's super light, I can apply it with my hands and there is only one color so there is no fuss in trying to find the perfect match. It blends perfectly with "most skin tones" it says.  Plus, it has SPF of 20...gotta like that.  It just makes a really nice base for the rest of my makeup.  And when I'm in a hurry it's a life savor!

 Another favorite:

NYX Butter Gloss.

They are super affordable and I love them.  I usually wear them over a very neutral lipstick. They're not sticky at all (because we all know there is nothing worse than a sticky, goopy lip gloss)  The only downfall is that they don't last as long as...let's say...Buxom lip glosses.  But they still get the job done!

I have the colors Creme Brulee, Tiramisu and Vanilla Cream Pie...just in case anyone wanted to know.

So, there you have it...my first edition of Makeup Monday.  Does anyone else out there have an obsession with makeup?

Happy Monday ya'll!

Science Fair and crazy weather!

I now have my first Science Fair experience under my belt...countless more to come I'm sure!  5th and 6th graders participate in it, so goody me, I get to do again next year!  Haley chose to do a baking experiment...actually her and a friend chose to do a baking experiment as a team, but us moms didn't get our act together until the last weekend and unfortunately we both had to work Friday and Saturday, so in the end we decided to scramble Sunday with just our own child to worry about.  I'm pretty sure that was a run-on sentence...but whatever...I'm not known for my grammar...or my spelling (gotta love spell check).

So, the Science Fair.  Haley did her experiment on which fat makes the best pie crust: vegetable shortening, cold butter, room temperature butter or melted butter.  And surprise, surprise, cold butter was the big winner!  But I bet you didn't know that it's because when you put the pie in the oven (with cold butter) the water in the butter evaporates faster than the butter melts creating super flaky crust.  I'm sure there are other reasons too, but there's a little something sciencey for you.

Haley was super excited to show off her work.

"Pie in the Sky" was the title she insisted on.

It was a long day for these kids.  They spent pretty much all of it sitting by their project as people filtered in and out to look at them.  The judging took place in the morning and then families were able to come through in the afternoon.  So, I can't say as I blame her when I saw her in this position.

In other news, it seems Spring has decided to come early around here

Yeah, 66 degrees in February?!  That's not right!

Where are all our snow storms?!

 So, this afternoon while Haley and Morgan were skiing on the mountain for their programs, I took the little ones on a walk to visit the horses down the street.

I suppose I can't control the weather, so I might as well try to enjoy it...right?

But seriously, I need a good snow storm stat!!

Enjoy the weekend ya'll.

I'll be teaching kids how to ski in slush...lucky me.